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  • S. Vito – via Campana
  • Pozzuoli
  •  
  • Italy
  • Campania
  • Naples
  • Pozzuoli

Credits

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Periods

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Chronology

  • 100 BC - 600 AD

Season

    • Along the line of via Campana, in the locality of S. Vito, excavations reopened on the necropolis of the same name, in the sector between monuments 21 and 22 on the eastern side of the road. An _opus reticulatum _ enclosure emerged, inserted in the empty space between the above mentioned funerary monuments. It was covered by massive accumulations of alluvial material and ancient dumps, the first of which, formed between the 1st and 2nd century A.D., contained a fragmentary head of a female statue. To the east numerous single cremations, inhumations and amphora burials came to light, datable to between the mid to late imperial period. The excavation also led to the detailed exploration of the architectural characteristics of monuments 22 and 21 north, which fitted within the typology already known in the necropolis
    • Along the stretch of road preceding the necropolis of S. Vito, restructuring work on a building beside the road but noticeably lower down, led to the discovery of a stretch of basalt paved road and of twelve funerary structures. These were aligned side by side without space between, apart from that of a single enclosure between the two southernmost buildings in the row. A 1st century A.D. date is proposed on the basis of construction technique, the almost exclusive use of _opus reticulatum_, the surviving traces of stucco and plaster decoration and the scarce materials found in the fill. Restructuring took place which can be dated probably as far as the 2nd century A.D. The structures were all _columbaria_, with a prevalence of cremations, although _formae_ were cut into the walls of the ground floor of funerary building VII. All the buildings were preserved on two storeys. Worthy of note: two inscriptions in charcoal present inside one of the structures.
    • Along the Via Campana, behind the so-called necropolis of S. Vito, during work on the restoration of a farmhouse, it was seen that the latter partly incorporated and in part used as foundations a sequence of interesting mausoleums. In fact, the vaulted funerary chambers were partitioned by walls enclosing groups of formae arranged on several levels, almost reaching the impost of the roof. The prevalence of the use of _opus vittatum_ and the small amount of pottery found date the use of the structures to the 3rd century A.D. onwards and their abandonment to no earlier than the end of the 5th or beginning of the 6th century A.D. In most cases the tombs either had a covering of flat tiles resting on internal parapets, or were “a cappuccino” or with a single slope. In only one case the tomb was covered by a reused slab from a strigilated sarcophagus. Two vaulted chambers opened in the western wall of room A, the wall decoration of the latter was still preserved. Amongst the fill of the room and the disturbed tombs there were numerous marble fragments: of interest a fragmentary slab with an inscription showing a male figure with a sheep, an allusion to the Good Shepherd. Room B, with rectangular plan and also with a barrel vaulted ceiling, presented two rows of _arcosolia_ (one above the other) along its side walls for house inhumation burials. The burials in the floor can be ascribed to a later phase. A bucolic style decoration was preserved on the northern wall of room C. The scene showed the Good Shepherd with the lambs, an iconographic theme common in 4th century A.D. catacombs. Lastly, at least two phases of use were identified in room D, situated south of the others.

Bibliography

    • V. Sampaolo 2005, L’attività archeologica a Napoli e Caserta nel 2004, in Atti del XLIV Convegno di Studi sulla Magna Grecia (Taranto 2004), Taranto: 663-705.
    • M.L. Nava, 2006, L’attività archeologica a Napoli e Caserta nel 2005, in Atti del XLV Convegno di Studi sulla Magna Grecia (Taranto 2005), Taranto: 583-661.
    • S. De Caro 2003, L’attività della Soprintendenza archeologica di Napoli e Caserta nel 2002, in Atti del XLII Convegno di Studi sulla Magna Grecia (Taranto 2002), Taranto: 569-621.